Economical umbrella frame structure



July 24, 1951 v. L. WOODWARD 2,561,435

ECONOMICAL. UMBRELLA FRAME STRUCTURE Filed Nov. 5o, 1949 EYS Patented July 24, `1951 ECONOMICAL UMBRELLA FRAME STRUCTURE Van Lear Woodward, Staten Island, N. Y., assignor to Van Lear Woodward & Co., Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware i Application November 30, 1949, Serial No. 130,100

2 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to umbrella frame structures of the type primarily designed for economy in construction and materials; and has for a general object provision of such frame structure which can be and preferably is formed of relatively cheap materials, such as wood, paper and cord, by simple and economical operations in mass production with the use of unskilled labor, such umbrellas being effectively waterproofed efficiently to protect a user from moisture or rain and primarily designed for a one-use purpose, the umbrellas beingmarketable at a price permitting discard after being used once, although the structure is of such durability as to permit repeated use.

Amore specific object of the present invention is to provide in such economical umbrellas frame structure characterized by construction of the ribs and stretcher arms from strips of wood and the tip head and stick runner from shaped and cut pieces of wood held together in an effective fash ion by cords, such as textile strings, the rib and stretcher arm joints being provided in a simple manner by splitting of ends of the arms to form forks, each comprising a pair of resilient prongs snugly to engage opposite sides of an apertured portion of a rib, with substantially aligned apertures inthe prongs and the rib frictionally receiving therethrough a portion of a continuous loop of cord to form an effective hinge joint.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a structuralembodiment of the device which may be readily constructed and permits efficient use and operation thereof.

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts, which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth, and the scope of the invention Will be indicated in the claims.

For a fullerunderstanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view from the underside of an embodiment of the umbrella of the present invention in opened position;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detailed perspective view, with parts broken away, of the rib and stretcher arm joint structure of the construction shown in Fig. l, and showing details of associated elements;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view, with parts broken away, taken substantially on line 3--3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view, with parts broken away, of the umbrella structure shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, showing the stick in elevation and the tip head and runner in axial section;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view, with parts broken away, taken substantially on line 5--5 of Fig. 4, showing a top plan view of the runner and the ends of the stretcher arms pivoted thereto;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of the runner; and

lliig. 7 is a side elevational View, with. parts broken away, of the umbrella construction shown in Figs. l to 6, inclusive, indicating relative positions of parts when the umbrella is partially open or being manipulated to closed position. Y

Referring to the drawing, wherein like numerals identify similar parts throughout, it will be seen that the preferred embodiment of the invention disclosed therein comprises a stick I0, a, stick runner II, tip head I2, ribs I3-`-I3, cover I4, and stretcher arms I5-I5. In an ecomonical embodiment, the stick I0 comprises a length of bamboo, the runner I I comprises a Wooden sleeve, the tip head I2 comprises a wooden cap or socket, and the ribs` I3-I3 and stretcher arms I5-I5 preferably are formed of strips of bamboo.

As will best be seen from Fig. 4, the tip head I2 preferably is a substantially cylindrical4 body provided with an axial socket IG in which is received the top end I'I of stick I0. The lower portion of the tip head I2 has radial slots I8-I8 cut or sawed therein, preferably through to the socket IE to denne a circle of rib-separating segments I9-I9, each slot receiving an end 20 of one of the ribs I3. The outer cylindrical surface 2l of the slotted lower portion of the tip head I2 is provided with a discontinuous orinterrupted circular groove 22, each section of which traverses the outer face of one of the segments I9. The end 20 of each of the ribs I3 has an aperture therein. A cord or string 23 is threaded through those rib apertures, seated in the sections of the interrupted groove 22 and tied tightly in its encircling position pivotally to mount to the tip head I2 the ends 2li-20 of the ribs I3I3.

To the upper edges 24-24 of the ribs I3-I3 is cemented or glued a webbing of waterproofed paper, or its equivalent, to provide the cover I4. In order to assure complete protection from rain to the user, the wooden tip head l2 preferably is covered by a layer 25 of waterproofed paper, or its equivalent, and, as shown in Fig. 4, the

, jointsl 213-28..

skirt of the resulting cap for the tip head is lapped over and cemented to the inner edge of the webbing of cover material I4 to provide a waterproofed joint. The outer ends -Zii of the ribs I 3-I3 are rpreferably connected together by a loop of cord or string, with the edges of the cover I4 in eachsegment intervening asuccessive pair of ribs it, It lapped back thereabout and cemented to the main portion of the cover to form an edge seam, as indicated at ill-2l.

As shown in Figs. l, 2 and 3, each rib I 3 is provided, intermediate its inner and outer ends 2i) and V26, with a joint structure 28 comprising an enlargement or ear 29 disposed on or made integral with the bottom edge of the rib. Each projection or ear 29 is pierced or provided with a through aperture or hole 3i) of certain diai'neu ter.

comprising a pair of resilient prongs 32, 32, .which are stressed when separated snugly to receive therebetween projection or ear 2). lin fact, there is appreciable frictional engagement between the inner faces of the prongs 32, 32 and the outer sides of the projection or ear 29 since there is a tendency for the prongs to snap together. Each prong 32 has its end pierced or provided with a hole or aperture 33 of a diame tersubstantially equal tothe hole or aperture 3e in the ear or projection 29.

having'its ends tiedtogether, such as at 35 in Fig. 1, is strung successively through the aligned apertures 33, 3i), 33 in the successive joints As best shown in Fig. 1, each length of the continuous loop of cord 34 between successive joints 28, 28 issubstantially equal to the width of the segment of webbing Ill at the joints so that when the umbrella is opened to the protective position indicated in Fig. l, the various sections of the cord 3ft are drawn tautly betweenthe successive joints 28-28-- The cord or string 34 `is preferably made from textile fibers and is of a rather compact nature, being treated or waxed if desired, so as to require a fair amount of squeeze force to reduce it in diameter at any particular point. Further, it is of a diameter substantially greater than the diameters of the holes 3ER-3i) and 33--33 so that in order to pull it therethrough a fair amount of tension must ,be applied in Stringing the parts together, As a result, the rib and stretcher arm parts at the joints 28-28 will be held effectively together both by the resilient gripping of the projections or ears 29-29 between the pairs of resilient prongs :i2-32 and by the frictional mounting of the cord through those smaller apertures. Thus, when the umbrella is collapsed, the various lengths-of the cord ll intervening the successive joints 28-28 will fall loosely to the positions indicated in Fig. 7 and will remain substantially equal in length so as to avoid interfering with the opening action.

As best seen in Figs. 4, 5 and 6, the stick runner II. isv preferably made as a, substantially cylindrical wooden sleeve having a round axial bore of a diameter at least slightly larger than the diameter of stick Iiil so as slidably to receive the latter freely therethrough. The upper portion of the stick runner Il is provided with a plurality ofradial slots 3?-3! cut or sawed therein, preferably to the bore 36, so as to denne v-therebetween a circle-of stretcher arm-separating segments Sii- 33. The cylindrical outer sur- A continuous loop of cord or string 34, provided. by a length thereof Outer end SI of each stretcher arm l5 is split, as best shown in Fig. 3, to provide a fork 4 face of the upper portion of runner II is provided with a discontinuous or interrupted circular groove 39 so that sections thereof traverse the outer faces of the segments 38-38 as best Seen from Fig. 6.

Each stretcher arm I5 has a bottoni end 4U pierced or provided with a transverse aperture or hole 4I, through which a length of string or cord i2 is strung, with the stretcher arms ends BIB-40 located in the slots 3'I-3'I, as indicated in Fig. 5. The cord 42 is seated in the interrupted groove 39 and tightly tied in position, such as at 43, as clearly shown in Fig. 5, pivotally to anchor the bottom ends of the stretcher arms to the stick runner I I.

As is indicated in Figs. 1 and 4, the stick II] is preferably provided with a pin 44 extending through a transverse hole therein to provide an upper stop for the runner II and also with a spring tongue 45 to form a latch for holding the umbrella inA its open position in the manner indicated in Fig. 4.

It will thus be seen that the umbrella structure illustrated in the drawing is of very economical construction and, incidentally, it is intended pri-i marily for emergency use. Its construction makes Vpossible its sale at an unusually low price so that when an unexpected rain storni appears, onemay purchase one of these umbrellas at a nearby newsstand or variety shop. Its use in the emergency may avoid a wetting necessitating an expensive cleaning and/or pressingof a persons clothsa .The'umbrella construction may also be useful. to courteous hosts for presentation to their guests in emergencies.

It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those made apparent from the preceding description are eiiiciently attained and, since certain changes may be made in the above construction and different embodiments of the invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that allA matter contained 4in they above description or shown in the accompanying. drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific fea-turesV of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure'by Letters Patent is:

1. Frame structure for an economical umbrella comprising, in combination, a Vstiel; fitted with an enlarged circular wooden tip headv having radial slots cut in the bottom portion thereof defining a circle of separating segments each having a transverse groove cut into its outer face aligned with those in the other segments, a plurality of wooden ribs each having an apertured end disposed in one of said slots, an anchoring cord strung through the apertures in said rib ends andtied tightly in said aligned grooves, a substantially cylindrical wooden ruimer having a bore slidably receiving said stick and having radial slots cut in the top portion thereof defining a circle of separating segments each having a transverse groove cut into its outer face aligned with those in the other segments, a plurality of wooden stretcher arms each having an apertured end disposed in one of said runner slots, an anchoring cord strung through the apertures in said stretcher. arms and tied tightly in saidv runner grooves, each of said stretcher arms' having its ether end split to form a fork between the prongs of which a mid-portion of one of said ribs is snugly received, the prongs of each fork and the portion of the rib received therebetween having relatively small alignable apertures, and a flexible cord strung through the apertures in said rib mid-portions and the ends of said forks to form pivoted joints with said cord of such relative diameter as to be frictionally engaged in those apertures to prevent any appreciable relative separation between parts at said joints, said lastmentioned cord having its ends fastened together to form a loose loop of such dimensions that the lengths thereof between said joints are substantially as long as the width from joint to successive joint of webbing to be mounted on said ribs.

2. In a frame structure for an economical umbrella rib and stretcher arm joint structure comprising, in combination, a plurality of Wooden ribs each having a transverse aperture extending through a mid-portion thereof, a plurality of Wooden stretcher arms each having one end thereof split to form a fork having a pair of resilient prongs snugly receiving therebetween the aper- 6 tured mid-portion of one of said ribs with said prongs having transverse apertures therein substantially aligned with the aperture in said rib, and a flexible cord strung through the apertures in said rib mid-portions and the ends of said forks to form pivoted joints with said cord of such relative diameter as to be frictionally engaged 1n those apertures to prevent any appreciable relative separation between the joint parts, said cord having its ends tied together to form a` loose loop of such dimensions that the cord lengths between the successive joints will be drawn taut with spread of said vribs by lift of said stretcher arms to umbrella-open positions.

VAN LEAR WOODWARD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 331,231 Folger Nov. 24, 1885 1,844,325 Killebrew Feb. 9, 1932 

